Currently the development of humanoid robots is making progress.
For humanoid robots, advanced motions such as contacting with people, autonomously bypassing an obstruction and grasping and moving an object are required.
Because a tactile sense is required to achieve such motions, studies to provide the hands or the whole surface of a robot with a tactile sensor are under way (for example, see Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 6).
Existing tactile sensor systems typically have a mesh structure.
For example, a plurality of electrode lines are formed on each of two electrode sheets.
The electrode sheets are then placed opposite to each other in such a way that their electrode lines are orthogonal to each other, thereby forming mesh wiring lines.
A pressure-sensitive conductive member is interposed between the two electrode sheets, or a tactile sensor element is mounted at each intersection of the electrode lines.
Each tactile sensor element converts a pressure change or a temperature change due to contact with an object into an electrical signal change according to the amount of change.
A control unit is connected to each of the electrode lines and makes central control of a plurality of tactile sensor elements. Specifically, the control unit sequentially selects the tactile sensor elements and performs sampling of sensor values of the respective sensors. The control unit accumulates electrical signals from the tactile sensor elements and makes data processing.
By repeating such a sampling operation on a regular basis, whether a robot is in contact with an object and further which sensor is in contact are sensed.
It is thereby possible to sense in which position and with what strength the robot is in contact with the object.